Japan has no chance of becoming UNSC permanent member - Russian FM

Saransk, Jan. 31 -- Japan has no chance to become a permanent member of the UN Security Council, Tokyo has no independent political voice, Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said on Friday.

"There are no chances [for Japan] of gaining a permanent membership of the UN Security Council. For what purpose? For the US to have a second chair that just says Japan on one side and the US on the other?" Zakharova said during a briefing.

She added that there are three NATO countries in the UN Security Council, acting and voting the same. Meanwhile, Japan albeit not a member of NATO, doesn't even have a voice for "protecting its own identity" from Washington's influence, the spokeswoman said.

"The expansion of the Security Council ...